Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Moths of Capitalism

So the Westfield is now open - and seems to have changed the character of Shepherds Bush overnight. It is now busy. On a Sunday. Also, Tiffany and Co. now have a Shepherds Bush branch - which I find frankly surreal. It immediately made me wonder if I knew anyone who could lend me a gun.

The Evening Standard - everyone's favourite right-wing London daily, have been banging on about how it's an architectural abomination and will ruin the area's local shopping scene. Clearly they've never actually been to Shepherds Bush - we don't have any shops, just generic fried chicken outlets and pawnbrokers. And the whole area is built around a roundabout.

I sort of like this ad by hotshot-young-gun-adman Nick Tasker at new business Mammon Adam and Eve. Sort of. Loads of people are going to Westfield are they? Like moths are they? Yeah in your advert. Reassuring for the client, which perhaps won them the pitch. It doesn't give me any reason to go there, it just says loads of other people are going there. In fairness this was probably part of the brief - because, after all, a shopping centre is just a shopping centre - you have to dramatise the reaction because, apart from the many shops (which would be a co-branding nightmare - ever had that nightmare? Horrible.) the thing itself is only quite impressive.

"Check out our...escalators?"

Typically the only bit of the Westfield that isn't finished is the new fucking library. Take your time with that why don't you?